Revising The Rules of The Road for Cyclists

Ben Fried is talking sense over at Streetsblog. Drivers' #1 bitch about cyclists is that they "don't follow the rules". Cyclists' #1 bitch about drivers is that they bitch that we don't follow the rules. I'm not going to kill anyone (except perhaps myself) going through a red light, or treating a Stop sign as a Yield. In fact, I'm making the commute easier for everyone involved. Yielding instead of stopping means less time I spend going from 0 to top speed. It also makes it easier for cars behind me to pass or turn once the light does go green.

For drivers who think this is a matter of extending "privileges" to cyclists: chill, dudes. You're still going to reach your destination in half the time we are.

RIP Alice Swanson: Cyclist Killed in DC's Dupont Circle

22-year-old Alice Swanson was killed yesterday after being run over by a garbage truck in Washington, DC's Dupont Circle.

According to the Washington Post, Alice was "riding in or next to a designated bike lane" when the driver made a right turn and struck her. WaPo fills us in a bit on Alice's life:

Swanson had an internship in Washington last year at the Middle East Institute, a nonpartisan think tank. She graduated from Amherst College with a degree in Middle East history, according to the institute's Web site. The site says she studied Arabic at the institute.

She remained in the city after that and began work in January as a program associate at the International Research and Exchanges Board, an organization that promotes international education.

From the sounds of it, Alice was a careful cyclist. Her commute was a mere two miles. It could happen to any one of us.

Huge condolences to Alice's family.

Copenhagen Cycle Chic

Normal people in normal clothes on normal bikes. A photographic blog documenting how people get around in the bicycling capital of the world. I LOVE it.

For a steady stream of velocouture pics from America, check out the Flickr Velocouture pool.

So How Do We Get Bike Boxes in Seattle?

Every time I think Seattle's doing fine with its support for bikers, I see some other punk-ass city is kicking our ass. This time it's New York City, which is installing bike boxes at critical intersections. The boxes make it easier - and safer! - for cyclists to turn out of bike lanes without cutting into traffic.

We could so use these on critical bike-enabled streets - particular Second, 12th, and Pine (Pike too).

Infinity MPG

My new favorite t-shirt. Sadly, all sold out.

Canadian Bicycling Heroine Claire Morissette Honored

Morissette's list of accomplishments shows that she didn't just talk cycling - she lived it:

For more than 30 years she tirelessly promoted bicycling in Canada and in the developing world. Morissette founded cycling lobby organization Le Monde à Bicyclette with Robert "Bicycle Bob" Silverman. As co-president from 1976 to 1997 she staged creative actions that included a "die-in" complete with ketchup "blood" and mangled bicycles and 100 people lying down playing dead at the corner of Ste-Catherine and University; to protest the ridiculousness of a metro no-bicycles rule, group members brought along skis, ladders and cardboard elephants - all allowed at a time when bicycles were barred from the metro. She fought for safer and better routes for cyclists and more bicycle paths, including the De Maisonneuve bike path.

To get people cutting their car use, she initiated the Montreal branch of car-sharing organization Communauto. In 1999, Morissette founded Cyclo Nord-Sud, a non-profit organization that has shipped more than 23,000 donated bicycles to the developing world, many of them to women who rely on the bicycles to get water or do the shopping for their families. In her book Deux roues, un avenir, published in 1994, Morissette not only reveals the state of bicycle facilities across the world but shares her passion for cycling and for cycling
activism.

The trail that Morissette fought for, the De Maisonneuve, will now be named after her.

Why Bikers Flout The Rules

A recent Colorado Springs Gazette article about the competing needs of drivers and cyclists drew a flurry of irate responses from both sides. The chief complaint from drivers: those goddamn cyclists are always violating the rules of the road, and should get fat tickets just like us.

Four thoughts:

(1) Cyclists sometimes violate the rules because they can. Drivers do this, too: they ignore "no right on red"s, cut through corner paved lots, etc. It's human nature to cheat when you're convinced its consequence-free. So climb down off of your high horses, thanks so much.

(2) You're several tons larger than us. Your violations of the rules can kill us. Our violations of the rules can kill us.

(3) It's sometimes safer for cyclists to violate the rules. This is especially true at stops on streets with no marked bike lane. If a cyclist has a trail of cars behind her, she'll see if she can get a head start on them so she can get clearly out in view of the car(s) to her side.

(4) We weave back and forth between sidewalk and road (one of the way drivers say that cyclists violate the rules) because streets with no marked bike lane and minimal shoulder are fucking scary. Stopping at a light with a line of 2+ ton vehicles idling their engines is fucking scary. Trust me: no cyclist enjoys riding on the sidewalk. Sidewalks are for pedestrians. Most cyclists will only hop onto a sidewalk as a last resort.

Bottom line for cyclists: yes, we ought to follow the rules of the road just as drivers (often) do. We can cause grave injury or even death if our recklessness causes drivers to swerve into other traffic. But until our cities are better retro-fitted to accommodate two-wheeled commuting, we're going to bend the rules where our safety's concerned.

Bottom line for drivers: if you want cyclists out of your hair (and off of sidewalks!), campaign for better bike lanes and trails, and better demarcation of city cycling arterials. Work with us, not against us. The more we're in our own lanes, the faster you can get to your destination - and the safer it is for us.

The Down Low Glow

Yeah, it's expensive. But useful. And hella-cool.

Still, expensive - especially considering I still need to invest in a rear rack and a set of saddle bags for grocery runs. I think I'll settle for one of those little handlebar-mounted flashers for the time being.

Car Runs Down Bicycling Police Chief

Holy hell - even the cops aren't safe when biking to work. I don't know if that makes me feel better or worse.

LOCKPORT — Police Chief Lawrence M. Eggert is expected to miss several weeks of work after he was struck by a car while riding his bicycle home from the police station Wednesday afternoon.

Traffic Capt. Michael Neithe will serve as acting chief as Eggert recovers from a broken left leg and several broken ribs.

Eggert is in a cast from his toe to his knee, Neithe said Thursday.

The police chief was thrown from his bike while riding home from work on High Street near Beattie Avenue.

The driver of the car, Rachael A. Cirello, 19, of Middleton Drive, was charged with failure to yield the right of way when Eggert crossed the intersection.